The Dolls' House

Ever wondered what it’s like to have your life transformed by a TV programme? More

This is the story of The Dolls’ House, a fisherman's cottage in West Sussex. Built on the beach in the 18th century, it has variously been the servants’ quarters for a grand house, a holiday home, a hang-out for hippies and a high-tech luxury seaside home. It isn’t haunted, but it does have a mysterious brick arch that cats can’t resist.

It’s also the tale of a man who bought the almost derelict cottage intending to renovate and live in it. But he was conned by a cowboy builder and left with just a shell of a house and no money. His dream turned into a nightmare. The family’s health started to suffer, worsened by a poisonous ivy growing through the middle of the house that put his youngest son in hospital.Everything kept going wrong until...

Some of the people on an internet site who were following Mike’s increasing problems wrote to the BBC’s DIY SOS The Big Build – 110 of them on the same day. When presenter Nick Knowles heard about the family’s plight, and how ‘Mike’s Mob’ was supporting him and the boys online, he realised his team’s help was needed.

This is the fascinating account of how the DIY SOS team and scores of local tradesmen and volunteers rebuilt Mike’s house into a stunning seaside cottage... in just nine days.

The transformation of the house, and how it affected Mike and his sons, makes you appreciate the goodness in people - and it might leave you with a lump in your throat.

A proportion of sales of this book will be donated to BBC Children in Need.Hardback, softcover and downloadable PDF versions of the complete book are also available.